TY - JOUR

T1 - The pangs of the Ulstermen

T2 - an exchangist perspective

AU - Carney, James

PY - 2008

Y1 - 2008

N2 - Why is Cú Chulainn exempt from the curse of Macha in Táin Bó Cuailgne? In the present article, I attempt to resolve the issue of Cú Chulainn’s exceptional status by nominating the curse of Machaand the naming of Cú Chulainn pre-narratives to the Táin as semantic inverses of each other. Specifically, I argue that the former narrative depicts the breaking of a contract between the third functional group and the combined forces of the first and second functions in Georges Dumézil’s Indo-European social taxonomy; while the latter narrative, I suggest, charts the restoration of this same contract. On this basis, I then identify Macha’s curse with the spiritual animation that, according to Marcel Mauss, accompanies all violations of social reciprocity.

AB - Why is Cú Chulainn exempt from the curse of Macha in Táin Bó Cuailgne? In the present article, I attempt to resolve the issue of Cú Chulainn’s exceptional status by nominating the curse of Machaand the naming of Cú Chulainn pre-narratives to the Táin as semantic inverses of each other. Specifically, I argue that the former narrative depicts the breaking of a contract between the third functional group and the combined forces of the first and second functions in Georges Dumézil’s Indo-European social taxonomy; while the latter narrative, I suggest, charts the restoration of this same contract. On this basis, I then identify Macha’s curse with the spiritual animation that, according to Marcel Mauss, accompanies all violations of social reciprocity.

M3 - Journal article

VL - 36

SP - 52

EP - 66

JO - Journal of Indo-European Studies

JF - Journal of Indo-European Studies

IS - 1&2

ER -